Indiana S 2nd Congressional District

SOUTH BEND - A moving van was parked Tuesday outside U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly's office in downtown South Bend. The Granger Democrat is nearing the end of his third term in Indiana's 2nd District congressional seat, and in early January he will be sworn in as one of the state's two U.S. senators. Therefore, according to the House of Representatives' rules for outgoing members, Donnelly has had to leave both his Washington and South Bend offices. “It has been an honor and privilege to serve Hoosiers in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District, and I look forward to continuing to serve you in the United States Senate beginning next month,” he says in a statement on his website.

ELKHART - Jackie Walorski's second effort paid off Tuesday in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District. The Jimtown Republican received 49 percent of the roughly 273,000 votes cast in the district, according to preliminary results, to win a three-way race for north-central Indiana's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Brendan Mullen, a Democrat from Granger, drew 48 percent, and Mishawaka Libertarian Joe Ruiz garnered 3 percent. A large gathering of Walorski supporters watched results roll in slowly during a party at the RV Hall of Fame.

On election night two years ago, Jackie Walorski spoke to a ballroom full of supporters at a hotel north of South Bend. She had just come 2,538 votes -- a mere 1.3 percent of all ballots cast in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District -- from unseating incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly. But Walorski, and her Republican supporters, didn't hang their heads that night. Their chins were up, and their eyes were on 2012. In her typical, high-energy style, the former state representative from Jimtown told her audience, "It's about us tonight not leaving here discouraged, folks, because there's a long way to go between now and 2012.

U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly has drawn national attention in recent weeks for his efforts to distance himself from Democratic Party leaders. Reporters, bloggers and commentators have picked up on Donnelly's two televised campaign advertisements in which he says he doesn't work for "the Washington crowd," referring to fellow party members President Barack Obama and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and calls cap-and-trade legislation "Nancy Pelosi's energy...

This is the latest fiasco on which President Barack Obama has wasted our taxpayer dollars: In 2009, a company called Solyndra (a solar energy company) received a federal loan totaling $528 million, which was supposed to be for the ultimate solar energy system. In 2011, two years later, Solyndra filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Did I mention that the article, which is vitally important to all Americans, was not listed on Page A2, A3, but on Page A8 of the Sept. 17 Tribune? We have an important election coming in November and we have a presidential election coming in 2012.

U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly will host a telephone town hall Dec. 6 for constituents of Indiana's 2nd Congressional District. Donnelly, D-Granger, said he wants to hear residents' comments and answer their questions. The town hall will be 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Visit donnelly.house.gov or Congressman Joe Donnelly on Facebook to sign up for the event. His office will call participants the evening of Dec. 6 with a recorded message. Then they will be added to the town hall.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana's 2nd Congressional District would shed some Democratic areas and pick up more Republicans under a plan unveiled Monday in the General Assembly. State lawmakers are required to redraw district boundaries once every 10 years to reflect population changes recorded in the census. The redistricting process this year will shake up the Indiana House of Representatives and Senate as well, but its earliest impact will likely be at the federal level. U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, has said the 2nd District's new shape will be a major factor in whether he decides to run for a fourth term in Congress or aim for a statewide office, such as the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Richard Lugar.

Fragrance of a farmer's fertilizer from a primary past lingers still in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District. It's from the 2002 campaign of the legendary Lewis F. "Farmer" Hass, who designated an outhouse as his campaign headquarters. He waged only a mock campaign, but still carried two counties, came close in a third and got a fifth of the Republican congressional primary vote in his challenge to nomination winner Chris Chocola. There is no candidate like Farmer Hass this time.

SOUTH BEND - A moving van was parked Tuesday outside U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly's office in downtown South Bend. The Granger Democrat is nearing the end of his third term in Indiana's 2nd District congressional seat, and in early January he will be sworn in as one of the state's two U.S. senators. Therefore, according to the House of Representatives' rules for outgoing members, Donnelly has had to leave both his Washington and South Bend offices. “It has been an honor and privilege to serve Hoosiers in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District, and I look forward to continuing to serve you in the United States Senate beginning next month,” he says in a statement on his website.

ELKHART - Jackie Walorski's second effort paid off Tuesday in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District. The Jimtown Republican received 49 percent of the roughly 273,000 votes cast in the district, according to preliminary results, to win a three-way race for north-central Indiana's seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Brendan Mullen, a Democrat from Granger, drew 48 percent, and Mishawaka Libertarian Joe Ruiz garnered 3 percent. A large gathering of Walorski supporters watched results roll in slowly during a party at the RV Hall of Fame.

Democrat Brendan Mullen's status as an Army and Iraq War veteran has been central to his run for Indiana's 2nd Congressional District seat. There's even a Veterans for Mullen coalition that's supporting him, and some of those local vets' stories are on his campaign website. But Republican Jackie Walorski is showing there are local military men and women who support her, too. On Friday, she announced a coalition of local veterans is backing her. "I'm supporting Jackie because I am proud of her extensive public service record," said Jim Grey, a Navy veteran from South Bend, in a statement issued by Walorski's campaign.

On election night two years ago, Jackie Walorski spoke to a ballroom full of supporters at a hotel north of South Bend. She had just come 2,538 votes -- a mere 1.3 percent of all ballots cast in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District -- from unseating incumbent Democrat Joe Donnelly. But Walorski, and her Republican supporters, didn't hang their heads that night. Their chins were up, and their eyes were on 2012. In her typical, high-energy style, the former state representative from Jimtown told her audience, "It's about us tonight not leaving here discouraged, folks, because there's a long way to go between now and 2012.

SOUTH BEND -- In a matchup that most had predicted, the race for Indiana's 2nd Congressional District became clear Tuesday night with primary wins by Democrat Brendan Mullen and Republican Jackie Walorski. After acknowledging their wins -- Mullen beat challenger Dan Morrison 54 to 46 percent, while Walorski beat Greg Andrews 73 to 27 percent -- both candidates used the term "laser focus" to describe the next 182 days until the general election. But before they get to November -- when Mullen and Walorski also will face Green Party candidate Andrew Straw and Libertarian Joel Ruiz -- both candidates said Tuesday night that they plan to keep spreading their message to local voters.

In the Republican race to represent Indiana's 2nd Congressional District this fall, the choice at Tuesday's primary might seem a little bit like déjà vu. Tuesday's ballot features Jackie Walorski -- who won the primary in 2010 before losing to Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, in the fall -- facing off against Greg Andrews, a LaPorte-based doctor little known in the area political community. In 2010, Walorski faced three primary opponents and still came away with 61 percent of the vote.

Fragrance of a farmer's fertilizer from a primary past lingers still in Indiana's 2nd Congressional District. It's from the 2002 campaign of the legendary Lewis F. "Farmer" Hass, who designated an outhouse as his campaign headquarters. He waged only a mock campaign, but still carried two counties, came close in a third and got a fifth of the Republican congressional primary vote in his challenge to nomination winner Chris Chocola. There is no candidate like Farmer Hass this time.

U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, will host a telephone town hall Wednesday for residents of Indiana's 2nd Congressional District. The event is scheduled for 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sign up at donnelly.house.gov or through his Facebook page. Those who sign up will receive a phone call from Donnelly's office Wednesday night to be added to the town hall. Then they will be able to listen to the congressman's update about legislation he's working on and ask him questions. Donnelly hosted his first telephone town hall in December.

Indiana's 2nd Congressional District, viewed after Republican-controlled redistricting as already "Jackie's district," could instead be a political battleground once again. Jackie Walorski, the Republican who lost a close race in 2010, still appears likely to win in a district now with more Republican areas redistricted in and a key Democratic part of LaPorte County drawn out. But Brendan Mullen, the presumptive Democratic nominee who drew attention by raising more campaign funding than Walorski in the third quarter of 2011, now is one of 18 Democratic candidates in the nation targeted for support in a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee program.